– Randall Krysta, General Manager, Pipeline

The Project Manager and Site HS&E Advisors for the Spectra Maxhamish Pipeline Project in Fort Nelson were recently recognized by Spectra’s SET West HS&E group for outstanding efforts and proactive behaviours.

Spectra HS&E recently spent a few days onsite reviewing our HS&E set up, our plans, programs, attending our PSI meetings, as well as reviewing practices on the Right of Way. There were plenty of positive performance indicators and no specific issues or shortcomings.

“I’m most impressed with your personnel; individually and as TEAM members”, says Bruce Maher with Spectra, “Best of all, they are all working closely together as a TEAM.”

Accolades go out to Matt Edwards – Project Manager, Doug Hastie – Lead HS&E Advisor and Jamie Hetsler – HS&E Advisor, for outstanding attitude and performance!

A special thanks to  Tim Bennett and Peter Schaefer, HS&E Divisional Management, for their extemporary leadership.

In the coming weeks, the Health, Safety and Environment Division of NACG will be implementing a new software application known as Impact Enterprise, which will enable us to make improvements in how we track incidents and manage HS&E risk.

Impact Enterprise will assist HS&E in identifying any weaknesses in our current prevention programs – such as training, engineering change management, engineering design, maintenance, risk analysis, etc. Impact will also help us identify and address residual risks that are discovered from both reactive (incident-based) and proactive (assessment-based) elements of our HS&E management system.

At present, we are planning to go live with Impact Enterprise by September 30^th, with training sessions scheduled for the first few weeks of October.

Once online, Impact Enterprise has the ability to become the true backbone of the HS&E division, and can help NACG form a focused initiative to strengthen risk mitigation performance, further ensuring that ‘Everyone Gets Home Safe’.

More information on Impact Enterprise will be released in the coming weeks.

- Bob Harris, Vice President, Human Resources & HS&E

As children prepare to head back to school, drivers need to focus on making the roads safer and re-familiarizing themselves with safe driving tips, says Young Drivers of Canada. The company says that each year in Canada, more than 4,000 children are hit by motor vehicles while playing outdoors or walking to school.

Young Drivers of Canada offers the following advice to drivers:

• Look well ahead to spot school buses and school zone signs; reduce speed in school zones, and wait for children to cross completely before proceeding.
• If you are driving your children to school, drop them off in a safe area, away from traffic; use a designated drop-off zone if the school has one.
• Stop at least 20 meters behind a school bus when the upper red lights begin to flash, and do not proceed until the “stop sign” is closed and the red lights stop flashing. Motorists travelling in both directions must stop for the school bus, except if the road is divided by a median.
• Scan under parked cars for the feet of children approaching traffic, and make lane changes early to allow room for children on bicycles, skateboards or roller blades.
• Children under the age of 13 are safest in the back seat away from passenger air bags. Have the correct type of seat that corresponds to the child’s weight and size; a booster seat should be used for a child weighing between 18 and 36 kg (40 to 80 lbs) and less than 145 cm tall (4-foot-9). * Be sure to check your local jurisdiction for regulations regarding child safety seats, booster seats and the recommended safe transportation of children.
• Avoid distractions such as using cell phones, eating or drinking, or personal grooming. Give children items such as books or toys to occupy their attention, so that your focus is on the road.

**NACG’s safety policies all comply with these points!

Could you stop in time to avoid a collision?

Summer brings increased traffic to our roads and highways. As you head out on the roads and highways this summer, here are a few tips to keep in mind to keep you and your family safe.

Safe Driving Practices

Like any time of year, safe driving practices are the best way to deal with increased traffic. It can get hectic out there, so try to stay calm. Drive at a safe speed and be courteous to other drivers. Speeding, tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic and not yielding the right-of-way can lead to collisions.

If you’re tired at the wheel, stop at a safe rest area, or take a break and treat yourself to a coffee or an ice cream. You’ll feel rejuvenated and more alert.

Always Remember to Buckle Up

And as always, make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled up, and babies and young children are in car seats and booster seats. Proper use of seat belts and child car seats, including booster seats, is the single most effective way to reduce vehicle-related injuries and fatalities.

Health Canada statistics show that motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death among children from one to nine years of age. And child car seat clinics held across Alberta demonstrate that as many as four out of five child seats are installed or used incorrectly.

Packing Your Car

On Friday night and Saturday mornings, the highways are full of vehicles stuffed to the max with supplies for the weekend, as well as sporting and camping equipment.

If you’re heading out to the cottage, don’t let these extra items block your view of the road. Make sure any loads are securely tied onto your vehicle, and if you are carrying a large load, slow down.

Keep on the Lookout

In addition to the number of cars on the road, cyclists and motorcyclists come out of hibernation in the summer and can be hard to spot.

There is also increased activity close to the road. Once school is out, more children are playing outside. There are rollerbladers, skateboarders and scooters on sidewalks and streets, and all-terrain vehicles can appear unexpectedly by the side of the road.

In general, there are more people out enjoying the season, so you need to be on the lookout for pedestrians.

Don’t Drink and Drive

Summer also gives us lots of opportunities to get together with family and friends. If you are going to have a few drinks at a picnic or barbeque, make sure you have a designated driver.

Summer is also prom season. If your son or daughter is graduating this year, find out what the high school is doing to make sure students don’t drink and drive during or after the festivities.

Construction Season

And as everyone knows, summer also brings increased construction on our roads and highways. Keep road workers safe by being prepared to stop or slow down in construction zones. As of 2005, motorists cannot speed past construction workers. Under the new amendments, motorists passing stopped emergency vehicles or tow trucks must drive at 60 kilometres per hour, or at the posted speed limit, whichever is slower. Motorists passing construction workers must obey posted speed limits or be subject to double the traffic fines for a regular speeding offense.

For updates on summer road construction, please visit the Weather Network – Road Construction Report at http://www.theweathernetwork.com/index.php?product=roadconstr&Province=Alberta&searchby=all&CourseName=

In any season it’s a good idea to continually improve your safe driving skills.  By working together, we can make our province’s roads the safest in the world.

Heat is a year round job hazard in workplaces like foundries, bakeries/kitchens, laundries, and smelters. Heat is also a hazard for outdoor workers especially in the summer

How does your body deal with heat?

The body works best within a narrow range of body temperature, 36-37.5 degrees Celsius. An increase in body temperature of more than 1 degree means the body is having trouble dealing with heat in the environment.

The body exchanges heat with hot objects like the sun and hot metal as well as hot air. The body gets rid of heat by sweating. When the moisture in the air (humidity) is high, the body has difficulty sweating.

The harder you work, the more heat you produce which must then be lost.

How hot is too hot?

There is no simple answer. The amount of heat in the environment depends on

• air temperature
• humidity
• air movement
• the presence of hot objects

Dehydration, tiredness, being overweight, age (over 40 and young children), poor physical condition, and recent intake of alcohol can reduce your ability to withstand heat. It is also important to take into account the physical activity required to do the work, the work/rest schedule, and how used you are to working in the heat (acclimatization).

The “Heat Equation” graph may help identify hazardous or dangerous situations.

How does too much heat affect your health?

When the body cannot get rid of as much heat as is required to maintain a normal body temperature the following conditions can occur:

Heat Rash — Also called “prickly heat”, this rash occurs when the sweat glands become plugged after much sweating over a long period of time. This reduces your ability to sweat and lose heat.

Heat Cramps — Cramps, which are sometimes severe, can occur in the muscles used for work like legs, arms and abdomen. This may result from the loss of salt and/or potassium during sweating.

Heat Exhaustion — Weakness, dizziness, fainting, headache, breathlessness, nausea and vomiting are symptoms of heat exhaustion. The skin may be pale and is very moist because sweating can be intense. Victims of heat exhaustion often do not notice the symptoms which means everyone needs to know and watch for the signs so you can help your co-workers.

What can you do for Heat Rash, Cramps, and Exhaustion?

• move to a cool area
• encourage rest
• give cool liquids to drink
• place a cool, wet cloth on their forehead and neck

Heat Stroke

This condition is life-threatening. It requires immediate medical attention and hospitalization. In this case, sweating stops and the skin is hot and dry. Confusion, convulsions, unconsciousness and death can occur. After recovery from Heat Stroke, you may continue to have problems dealing with the heat.

What can you do?

• Call 911 for anyone unconscious (take conscious victims to a doctor as soon as possible)
• Do not give anything by mouth to anyone who is in and out of consciousness.
• Move to a cooler area
• Soak the victim’s clothing with cool water
• Fan to promote cooling

Other Heat Related Problems

• safety concerns with slippery, sweaty hands and fogging of safety glasses
• decrease in mental alertness and performance
• burns to skin exposed to hot objects like the sun and metal.

What can your employer do?

Employers are legally responsible to provide a safe and healthy work environment for all their employees. The most effective ways are

• Insulate hot surfaces or cover the surface with a bright metal shield to reflect the heat back to the source
• Lower temperature
• Increase air movement
• Use a de-humidifier, get rid of open hot water baths and fix leaky steam valves
• Mechanize or automate tasks to reduce heavy work activity

The following can also be done, but not as a substitute for the above:

• Provide enough time for workers to become acclimatized before a full workload is expected. It usually takes 5-7 days to become acclimatized. After a week off a worker needs to be re-acclimatized.
• Reduce work pace and/or add crew members
• Increase the number and length of breaks
• Provide air-conditioned areas and/or canopies for shade
• Provide unlimited amounts of cool water close to the work site and encourage workers to drink
• Schedule the hardest work at cooler times of the day (before 10:00 a.m. and after 4:00 p.m.)
• Provide heat reflective clothing when appropriate
• Train everyone on the signs and treatment of heat related problems.

What can you do?

• Drink a glass of water or fruit juice every half hour, even if you are not thirsty
• Avoid eating hot, heavy meals
• Salt and potassium are lost through sweating. If you sweat a lot while you work, add a little extra salt to your food and eat foods high in potassium such as oranges, bananas and potatoes. Salt tablets are not recommended.
• Slow your work pace at the hottest times of the day (10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.)
• Wear light coloured, loose clothing if your job permits
• Wear long sleeved shirts, long pants and brimmed hats to protect your skin from the sun. Use sunscreens with a sun protective factor (SPF) of greater than 15 and reapply often (at least every two hours while in the sun). Do not use lotions that combine sunscreen with a mosquito repellant, (Deet). Apply them separately as Deet should be reapplied less frequently.
• Wear sunglasses that blocks Ultraviolet (UV) rays
• Know the signs of heat related problems and what to do.

If you work in a hot environment and are concerned that it may affect your health, talk to your supervisor and/or your health and safety representative.

(Source: MFL Occupational Health Centre, Inc., 2004)

Thank you everyone for participating in this year’s safety week! Take a look at the Photo Contest and Colouring Contest Winners:

Summer is upon us and so is mosquito season. Here are a few tips to protect yourself and your family from mosquito bites and mosquito-borne disease. Mosquito control starts at home.

Avoid shaded areas where mosquitoes may be resting.

If possible, schedule your activities to avoid the times when mosquitoes are most active – usually dawn and dusk.

If you have a deck or patio, light it using General Electric yellow “Bug Lights”. These lights are not repellant, per se, but do not attract mosquitoes like other incandescent lights.

Mosquitoes are relatively weak fliers, so placing a large fan on your deck or patio can provide an effective low-tech solution.
Wear protective clothing such as long pants and long sleeve shirts when outdoors.

Use insect repellents properly. DEET, Picaridin and Oil of Lemon-Eucalyptus are proven to be the most effective. Use repellents only as directed on the label.

Check your door and window screens for holes and tears that mosquitoes can use to enter your home. Put 16 mesh screening or hardware cloth over bathroom and other vent outlets on your roof.

Keep pools clean and chlorinated.

Keep emergent vegetation to a minimum in ponds and streams.

Keep ponds stocked with mosquito fish after consulting with local fish and game personnel to see if permits are needed. They are often available from your local mosquito control district. Steeply grade pond margins to prevent predators such as wading birds, raccoons, etc from eating the fish.

Eliminate all standing water on your property. Don’t forget to remind your neighbors, too. Their mosquitoes may also be your mosquitoes.

Dispose of any tires. Tires can breed thousands of mosquitoes.

Drill holes in the bottom of recycling containers.

Clear roof gutters of debris.

Clean pet water dishes regularly.

Check and empty children’s toys.

Repair leaky outdoor faucets.

Change the water in bird baths and plant pots at least once a week.

Canoes, boats, and wading pools should be turned over.

Avoid water collecting on pool covers.

Plug tree holes and stumps.

Fill in or drain puddles and ruts in your yard.

Keep shrubbery and weeds trimmed

Even the smallest of containers that can collect water can breed hundreds to thousands of mosquitoes. They don’t need much water to lay their eggs. (bottles, buckets, overturned garbage can lids, etc.)

Remember, the best protection is prevention!

The National Safety Council presents a white paper discussion on distracted driving. Read the attached presentation to learn about how hands free cell phones contribute to distracted driving.

Presentation: Distracted Driving